A year ago this time, Austin Ruder was going against Central Ozark Conference competition as a Nixa High School senior. Challenging, certainly — but nowhere close to what he will see tonight.

Ruder and his Missouri State teammates go against the reigning national champion Louisville Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center. It's sure to be a basketball experience like none before for Ruder.

With apologies to Republic, Ozark or Bolivar ... welcome to the big, big time.

"It's an amazing opportunity," the freshman guard said. "Most freshmen don't get a chance, or most anybody in the nation doesn't get a chance, to play the defending national champions."

But Ruder said it's important that the Bears aren't awestruck by their surroundings, or the fact they'll be on ESPN2 in prime time.

"It's helped that we've had a couple of true road games," Ruder said. "We just have to approach it like it's another road game. Kind of try and act like the crowd isn't there and not let it affect us."

Sophomore guard Marcus Marshall called it "a blessing" to face the No. 6 Cardinals, but agreed with Ruder that the Bears cannot make the moment bigger than it is.

With an 8-1 record, Marshall said Missouri State already has laid the groundwork for a successful nonconference season. Tonight's opportunity is an added bonus.

"They're the defending champs. We have nothing to lose and they have everything to lose," Marshall said. "We're just going to go out and play our game and see what happens."

Coach Paul Lusk said it's impossible to ignore the aura of playing a program such as Louisville's, but the Bears have to do the best they can to keep it as normal as they can.

"We've not tried to get too high or too low with whoever we've played," Lusk said. "We haven't talked about results, we've just talked about trying to play as hard as we can and do what we do."

A big part of what the Bears do is value the ball. They're one of the nation's best in doing that, ranking 27th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.9). Ruder has only two turnovers in 245 minutes.

This will be an ultimate test as Louisville is one of the nation's best at taking the ball away. The Cardinals lead the nation in turnover margin (plus 10.8) and are fifth in steals (10.9).

They're forcing opponents in an average of 19 turnovers.

"You're going to have turnovers. That's what they do," Lusk said. "They are going to steal the ball from you and convert. You just can't have three or four in a row and it's a 10-0 run and all of a sudden you're not within striking distance."

Ruder said for the Bears it's about "being smart and making good decisions" with the ball.

"They really speed you up and our ability to make decisions on the fly will be a key," Ruder said. "It'll really test how we are with the ball."

Rick Pitino's teams traditionally use a trapping press and often fall back into a zone in the half-court.

Senior guard Russ Smith leads the Cardinals at 17.2 points per game. He had 14 points and 10 assists in Saturday's home victory over Western Kentucky.

Junior guard Chris Jones, expected back after missing one game with a sprained wrist, averages 14.9 points with sophomore forward Montrezl Harrell at 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Jones was MVP of the 2011 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, playing for Oak Ridge (N.C.) Military Academy.

Pitino, in his post-game news conference following Saturday's victory over Western Kentucky, implored Cardinals fans to turn out for this one.

"Missouri State can flat-out play," Pitino said. "It will be the best offensive team we will face this year outside of North Carolina. They are really terrific.

"I am hoping our fans who have to get to bed early, like horse trainers, will give their tickets to people who haven't seen us play. We need our fans (tonight). It is going to be a very tough ball game."

Pitino said teams from the Missouri Valley Conference command his attention.

"I've always felt they were one of the most underrated leagues in basketball," he said of the Valley. "This team, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Indiana State all can flat-out play. They're not as deep as in the past, but the teams at the top are really good.

"We know what we'll be in for. We know what type of game it will be. We'll be ready for it, but they're more than capable of beating us if we don't play well."

Missouri State has faced Louisville only one other time. The Cardinals won 74-56 in the 2006 National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals at Louisville's Freedom Hall.